PRIOR to the trip south Brian Little confessed he would settle for a point from this encounter with the League One leaders.

PRIOR to the trip south Brian Little confessed he would settle for a point from this encounter with the League One leaders.

Yet for a long period of this tense, physical battle Tranmere looked like returning home with all three. Just one defensive error marred an otherwise fine away performance.

Luton can rightfully claim they had the majority of play and there were no surprises that they bombarded Rovers right from the start. But after shocking the hosts with an early goal Tranmere produced a solid team effort that repulsed everything the Hatters threw at them.

The backline stood firm for 53 minutes until the Hatters were gifted a way back into the game. A hopeful long ball saw Steve Howard race into the penalty area with Ian Goodison in hot pursuit. The Jamaican international was all over the back of the striker, who inevitably hit the turf.

It was a needless challenge by the centre back, who otherwise had a good match. Howard was on the far side of the box, the angle was too tight to beat the keeper with a shot and there was no one in support to cross to. The grateful Kevin Nicholls thumped home the subsequent spot kick to level the score.

Lesser teams would have buckled at this point, but Little's men responded by coming out of their defensive shell and playing their best football of the match.

Key to the resurgence were the performances of Paul Hall and Theo Whitmore. The ball control and dribbling ability of the Jamaican pair enabled the visitors to retain possession better and press Luton back into their own half.

Indeed, the more the game wore on the closer Tranmere came to adding to Eugene Dadi's fifth minute strike.

The opener began with a superb long ball from Ryan Taylor to pick out Iain Hume on the edge of the Hatters' box. Rising between two giant centre halves, the Canadian produced a deft downward header to play in his strike partner. Dadi reached the ball before advancing keeper Marlon Beresford to poke home.

Bar a right footed shot from Gareth Roberts that flew well wide of target, Rovers had offered little threat in the first half, but the soft equaliser sparked the visitors into life.

A flowing move involving Taylor and Hall would have put Whitmore in on goal but for an intervening header by defender Keith Keane. From the resultant corner Dadi flicked a header just wide of the far post.

The Frenchman then played a neat one-two to release Whitmore down the left wing. His low centre almost found Hall racing into the box, but last man Sol Davis got a vital touch to clear.

Still the chances came as Rovers finished the stronger side. Taylor blasted a free-kick just wide of the near post then deep into stoppage time he had a great chance to win the game.

A neat step-over by Mark Rankine allowed Whitmore to close in on the Hatters' penalty area and slide a pass to Taylor overlapping on the right. The wing-back's first touch was too heavy though, enabling Beresford to smother the danger.

On the balance of play the end result was a fair one, given the pressure Luton put the Rovers defence under early on. Jackson and Sharps were their usual dependable selves, while Linwood again impressed after coming on for the concussed Goodison.

If John Achterberg's swift return from injury was a surprise before kick-off, he repaid his manager's faith with a fine performance which included an acrobatic tip over after Jackson misjudged an attempt to chest the ball back to his keeper.

A good away result then, but it still leaves Rovers in third and they have now played two games more than second place Hull and one more than Luton.

Next up is a trip to Bradford City. A similar display to this, minus the charity, should ensure three points to keep the pressure on the top two.